


Sliver and Cold

by Fallenstar126



Series: Dynamite Universe [3]
Category: Grand Theft Auto V, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Christmas Party, Fake AH Crew, Guns, Other, Recreational Drug Use, obviously it's a fake ah crew au there's gonna be guns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 20:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13131048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenstar126/pseuds/Fallenstar126
Summary: "Remind me why we can't kill the carolers?"Set a year after the events in Homemade Dynamite.





	Sliver and Cold

It was their annual holiday get together, and Ryan was simmering in the corner, watching the rest of the crew around him as they mingled and laughed. There were a few new faces, but no one Geoff didn’t trust. His mask was firmly on his face, however, Geoff had shoved a bright red Santa hat onto his head at one point, and told him he was fired if he took it off. 

He knew the man was probably joking, but didn’t like taking the risk. 

Ryan didn’t like large crowds. Too many variables, too many people to watch. He wasn’t in his element, put on display to be gawked at. There was people here he had never met before, who looked at him in awe and fear. He sighed inwardly, and turned to Ray, who was completely relaxed in a chair, face full of his Switch. 

“Chill out dude, sit down and smoke, you’ll be fine.” Ray said without looking up. Ryan leaned over and saw the pixelated game on the screen, and rolled his eyes. He did sit down, but didn't grab the bong. He needed to stay on his best game, who knew what was going to happen tonight. Ray glanced over at him, offering it to him, before shrugging and taking it for himself. “Your loss.” He said through a breath of smoke, and leaned back on the chair, a small grin on his face. 

He heard a yell and was instantly on high alert, eyes darting around the crowded room until he saw Gavin standing on a bar stool while Michael was clawing at him to get down, both laughing loudly as Gavin held Michael’s gift over his head. The shorter was growling insults and drunkenly trying to pull the other down, but he managed to stay balanced, pretty surprisingly. 

He let out a calming breath, and stood, walking around the room. It was one of their unused safehouses, one of the biggest. Geoff had invited most of their contacts, every one of Ray’s guys, and a few other potentials that he had grilled before the party about privacy and how quickly Ryan could kill them if they dared talk about him. 

The house was in a smaller, quiet neighborhood, somewhere police would never expect a crime syndicate to set up shop. It reminded him too much of his childhood in some shithole suburb in Georgia, quiet and too friendly. He never fit in there, always the strange outcast with a perchance for movies. 

Looking around, the only comfort he found was that most of the people here would have been the same. 

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he grabbed a Diet Coke from the fridge, and made his way to one of the backrooms. He could feel people watching as he left, obviously curious about the mask, and how he was going to go about drinking, but he also knew none of them would dare to follow.

He found a balcony on the other side of the building from the rest of them, and took shelter there, pulling the curtain closed before closing the solid balcony door behind him, and slipped off his mask. 

He ran a finger along his scalp, scratching lighting to rub a bit more feeling back into it. Shoving your hair into a tight mask all day did have its cons. 

Ryan popped open the tab, and took a long drink, staring up at the mountains ahead of him. The tips were capped in snow, white and twinkling like the inverse of the night sky. It was slightly chilly out here, but a hell of a lot better than in there. 

He was there for another few minutes alone, when the sliding door opened again, and his hand went to his pocket, where his gun was hidden from Geoff. Jack slipped through the door and closed it behind her again, waving a hand in apology. 

Her usual scraggly hair was tucked up into an elf hat, Hawaiian shirt switched out for one with a mistletoe pattern. But she was still Jack, inside and out. 

She breathed in the cool air around them, and her breath came out as a fog. Leaning over the railing, she stared up at the mountains. 

“You know, Geoff was the first person who showed me snow.” She said, out of nowhere, not looking at Ryan. “I grew up in Austin, and never really left until I met him.” In two seconds, she had told him more than Ryan had told anyone in years. He wasn’t sure if he admired her for the openness. 

“We were running from town to town, pulling small robberies, weak stuff. While on the run from the police, the first snowfall began.” She let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head. “I was in so much awe I almost crashed into the rail.” She mused, and finally turned to look at Ryan. “I guess he didn’t really show it to me, but without him, I’d still be in Austin, oblivious of the future I could have had. Of all of you.” 

“I like to think our paths would have crossed eventually.” 

“If you’re like you are now, in this alternate reality, I hope not.” She winked, and held out a small glass. “It’s just eggnog, I swear.” Ryan took it with a nod of thanks, and down the small shot of eggnog. She did the same with a second glass, and then turned to make her exit. 

“Don’t spend too long out here, okay?” She threw over her shoulder, and the door slid shut again. 

Ryan stayed on the balcony for another few minutes, before heading back in, slipping his mask on. He felt calm, soothed. If Jack could keep her cool around all these people, as the most underestimated member the crew, Ryan could do the same. 

He managed to spend a few minutes in the front room, chatting with a few people he recognized from Ray’s warehouse, when the doorbell rang. 

His blood went cold, and he turned to the door, where Geoff had sidled over, and began to open the door. This threw another variable into the mix, what could be behind the door, where were the exits, and who was the most valuable person he was able to protect in the room. 

He located Jack leaning against a couch towards the front of the room quickly, and got ready in case he had to dive. Geoff was a lost cause if this went south. 

The door opened, and a chorus of people on the other side broke into song. 

The room went silent, eyes shooting towards the front door as a group of elderly citizens sung about Jesus. Somewhere, he sensed Ray shoving drugs into an armchair out of sight. Ryan still had eyes on Jack, who looked like she was about to explode from laughter. 

He moved over to her slowly, not wanting to cause a distraction, and leaned in to hiss, “So, verdict on killing the carolers?” 

She let out a short laugh, slapping his shoulder. “Ryan!” She exclaimed quietly, and shook her head. “Don’t you dare, look at Geoff.” 

The older man was now holding the door uselessly, staring at the group of elderly folk uselessly, lost for words. When they finished their Jesus song, one of the men started to move forward, but Geoff began to close the door before he could. 

“Sir! We just wanted to introduce ourselves, I know this is a bad-”

“This is a terrible time buddy, come back next week.”

“We just-”

The door shut, and Jack was the first to begin laughing, loud and carrying throughout the room. “Remind me why I can’t kill the carolers?” He asked, and her laughter pitched upwards as she began to struggle to find breath, grasping her chest as tears came to her eyes. 

Geoff wandered over, the party conversations resuming around them, a bewildered look on his face. “I knew it was a good neighborhood, but jesus.” 

“Literally.” Ryan deadpanned, and threw Jack into another wave of hysterics, tears springing to her eyes as she laughed. “So, blowing up the neighborhood?” He asked, and Geoff shook his head with a breath of amusement. 

“Not today, maybe when we don’t need this house anymore.” 

The party continued as it had previously, the incident forgotten most people started drinking. Gavin had passed out on the couch beside Michael, who was yelling at Ray for something that was going on in their game, but Ryan didn’t pay attention to that. 

He was quietly discussing a recent job with someone he had worked with in the past, when he heard a knock from the front door. He didn’t feel as alerted than he had previously, and Geoff  
looked through the peephole before opening it this time. 

He was relaxed up until the point he saw Geoff look towards Jack with mild panic. Geoff was a pretty stoic person usually so if he was concerned, something was wrong. 

Ryan excused himself from the conversation, heading towards the front door. He only made it about halfway before the door was knocked off its hinges by a battering ram. It revealed a squadron of police, guns loaded and pointed. Geoff managed to get out of the way as bullets began flying into the room, but Ryan was ready. 

He managed to take out four officers before they could get a hit on even one of them. Jack was at his side in a few seconds, her own gun smoking. 

“Remind me why I can’t kill the carolers?” 

“Shut up, Ryan.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm putting myself through college so maybe donate the cost of a coffee to keep me awake? :) https://ko-fi.com/humanwreakage


End file.
